Nigerian superstar Tems has reached a historic milestone, becoming the first African artist to receive Diamond certification from RIAA. Her collaborative track 'Wait For U' featuring Future and Drake was certified 11-times platinum by RIAA, signifying sales and streams exceeding 11 million units in the United States.
This significant moment for African music on the world stage was noted by Rolling Stone Africa, which congratulated Tems on this major achievement. Officially, on July 16, Temilade Openiyi received the status of the first African artist whose single reached 'Diamond' level in the US.
With this success, she joins Afrobeats icon Wizkid, who previously received his Diamond award thanks to Drake's hit 'One Dance' in 2016. Thus, Tems and Wizkid are the only two African artists to have surpassed the threshold of over 10 million sales in America. Notably, global star Drake is a common denominator in these two historical transcontinental anthems.
The track 'Wait For U' became not just a commercial success but also a model of emotional storytelling that gained popularity in pop culture. It was created with the participation of ATL Jacob and FNZ, and its hypnotic foundation is based on sampling Tems' own 2020 solo track 'Higher'. On social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, Tems' vocal parts caused huge viral resonance, as millions of fans used the audio track to voice their own stories about heart experiences, long-distance romance, and personal resilience.
The path to 11 million sales looks like this: in April 2020, Tems released the solo track 'Higher', creating the vocal foundation; on April 29, 2022, 'Wait For U' was released, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; in June 2022, RIAA certified 'Wait For U' as Gold and Platinum; in February 2023, she received a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance; and on July 16, 2026, RIAA upgraded the single's status to 11-times Platinum, surpassing the basic 'Diamond' level.
While critics long viewed the global rise of Afrobeats as a temporary trend, Tems achieving 'Diamond' status proves that it is a permanent cultural shift. According to the chart monitoring group Chart Data, Tems' total certified RIAA units exceeded 20.5 million, establishing her as a defining voice of contemporary pop culture. Her impressive catalog in America already includes major releases such as her feature on Wizkid's 'Essence' (5-times Platinum) and her solo breakthrough 'Free Mind' (2-times Platinum). Tems did not adapt her style to Western standards but presented her own world to listeners worldwide on her own terms.
